Disapproval of Sharon soars above 50%

Israel's embattled prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has sunk to a new low in the latest opinion poll. For the first time, a majority of Israelis - 53% - are dissatisfied with his performance since taking office just over a year ago.

His ratings have continued to slide, despite a televised pep talk to the nation last week in which he proposed setting up buffer zones between Israeli and Palestinian territories.

Israeli commentators criticised the speech, saying it offered no concrete plan for dealing with the conflict, as casualties mount on both sides.

In a similar poll a few days before the speech, 45% of Israelis said they were dissatisfied with Mr Sharon's performance. That, in turn, was a sharp decline from mid-January when only 34% were dissatisfied.

Yesterday's poll, in the newspaper Ma'ariv, found that 56% of Israelis thought Mr Sharon's plan for buffer zones was unclear.

"For the first time since his election, a majority of the public is dissatisfied with Sharon," commentator Chemi Shalev wrote in Ma'ariv. "He has not kept his promises, or delivered the goods."

Mr Sharon was elected with a landslide majority in February 2001 after promising to end Palestinian violence. At least 908 Palestinians and 280 Israelis have been killed since September 2000.